The town of Manlius had agreed to be the sponsor, but when the Regional Planning Board agreed to take on that role the town agreed that made more sense, said Manlius Town Supervisor Mark Tetley. The CNYRPB has the most expertise and ability to administer the grant if it is approved, Tetley said.

The $81 million proposed center would create about 200 to 300 jobs, according to developer Jeff Standart and his wife, Thelma, who run California-based XRT Express Reefer Transport.

This Transportation Infrastructure Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant, would be federal stimulus money and would help with financing, Tetley said. But even if the grant is approved, the project isn’t definite.

“It’s by no means a shoe-in,” Tetley said. The regional planning board is reviewing the project, and there are many more steps in the approval process.

The center would bring in cargo containers from the ports of New Jersey and New City, which would then be loaded onto trucks and transported to their destination. It would be located on 80 acres north of the CXT tracks and east of Girden Road.

Tetley said the project would help establish Manlius as a major transportation/distribution hub if it goes through. “It would give us a nice tax base and by being a hub help attract other businesses,” he said. “We’re very much interested in the project, but the town doesn’t have the resources to administer a $38 million grant. We’re novices at it, and the planning board is experienced.”

There are concerns from nearby residents about traffic, noise, pollution and drainage. “It is a wet area there, and drainage would have to very carefully engineered,” Tetley said.